


The Crimson Curse

by greeneyedwitch16



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Murder Mystery, Panic Attacks, Serial Killers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:35:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24520942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneyedwitch16/pseuds/greeneyedwitch16
Summary: Auror Rose Weasley just wants to live her life but a chain of gruesome deaths and an unexplained disappearance turn her life upside down. Will she be able to handle the pressure of being an Auror and her budding relationship with her colleague or will she bleed at the hands of the Crimson Curse?
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is a story I started writing almost five years ago when I was still in high school. With the lockdown measures, my mental health has really been on a decline as I feel disconnected from my college and my future career seems bleak. Earlier today when my internet was out because of a tropical storm, I was looking through my laptop for some downloaded movies when I found this unfinished story. I always find great comfort in fanfiction and some have truly touched my heart in ways no other writing can. Harry Potter was the first fandom that I was a part of and was introduced to fanfictions through this fandom. So here's my first fanfic! Please be kind and I hope you enjoy! Happy reading 🌹

“Honestly Dad you do not have to come bursting through my door every single day at five in the bloody morning to check if I am still alive!” It had been three months since Mum and Dad had allowed me to move out of their house to my flat again. Ever since my first morning here, he had made giving Celine, my owl, and me a heart attack an unnecessary addition to my daily routine. Today was no different.

“Merlin Rosie I thought I asked you to clear this place yesterday! Your mother would honestly have a fit,” said my dad, walking around my apartment, which, in my opinion, was perfectly clean if one ignored the massive pile of dirty laundry on the floor in my bedroom, dirty dishes in the sink, and a mountain of papers on the dining table that had somehow found its way to the floor. Okay so maybe my dad wasn’t completely bonkers for shouting.

“Dad can you please knock off the hysterics? A little clutter never hurt anyone,” I said, as I searched for some pants on the floor. “I have other things to worry about.”

“Yes you do,” he said, turning to face me with a serious expression. “You have become very cavalier, Rosie. Just because it’s been three months that does not mean you are no longer in trouble. Now, do you have that darkness powder I gave you?”

“Yes, Dad,” I replied monotonously. We’d been through this before, about a million times. “It’s always with me.”

“Good. And you know that Muggle self-defense thing your mum taught you?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“And the counter curse to Expelliarmus?”

“Ducking and punching my attacker in the nose?”

“Rosie!”

“Honestly Dad I get it, okay?” I said, raising my hands in surrender. “I know all the counter curses to all the offensive spells in the Auror Spellbook. Merlin I learned them all in the first month of Auror Training. I know how to incapacitate a man in 40 seconds and I can outrun Al and Fred. I have the powder, Fiendish Potion, and Mum’s charmed bracelet with me all the time. I am as prepared as I can be, Dad, so will you please stop worrying so much about me? There’s only so much we can do. We can’t just stop living our lives because of some psychopath.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, Rosie. I suppose I have been rather mental haven’t I?” he sighed, sitting on the couch. “You’ll have to forgive me for worrying Rosie but I’m your Dad aren’t I? I’ve gotta worry.”

I sat in his lap and hugged like I used to when I was a kid. “I love you, Dad. I’ll take care of myself I promise. Now will you please go so that I can sleep for another hour?”

He chuckled and pushed me off his lap. “Alright, Rosie you be good. I’ll see you at work.” He kissed my head, grabbed his wand from his pocket, and walked out of my apartment. Seconds later I heard the crack of him apparating.

I stomped to my bedroom and all but collapsed into my bed. Looking at Celine perched on my headboard I sighed, “How long will we live like this Cel?” It’s not like my dad’s anxiety was baseless; the killer was ruthless and had killed all his victims in the worst way possible. Lily, my younger cousin, had just managed to escape from his clutches thanks to the Senior Auror Department lead by her father, Harry Potter. She was of no help to the investigation because the Crimson Curse, that’s what they were calling the murderer, had wiped her memory before she had gotten away so other than several nervous breakdowns and constant anxiety, which was expected, she had nothing to offer to the investigation.

I rolled over in bed and pulled the comforter over myself. ‘Serial killers and dead girls are another day’s worry,’ I thought as I slipped into blissful darkness.

\-------------------X-----X-------------------

Writing reports is by far the most boring, and therefore, my least favorite part of being an Auror. There are obviously those silly cases of diamonds being reported stolen when, in fact, they were simply misplaced, but there are also murder mysteries that end in running full speed and firing spells at a criminal in some dark alley, which make the reports almost worth it all. Almost.

Closing the file of my latest case, I put my head down on my desk and closed my eyes. It was a slow day at work today. Almost everyone at the office was busy with the Crimson Curse case but I, obviously, was not allowed to even have a peek. My father was adamant that after Lily’s abduction, it was best for me to deal with petty household crimes and stay as far away from the big case as possible. I still couldn’t help but wonder why the murderer had decided to kill all those girls.

No, Lily wasn’t the first one to be abducted. Seven girls had been abducted and killed before Lily. The madman had made them do all sorts of crimes like torturing their loved ones, killing innocents, or simply stealing priceless artifacts. They came from different social classes and had nothing in common except one thing: they were all redheads. That’s why they call him the Crimson Curse I suppose (I do think they could have given him a better name). The most horrible part of the murders was that after all the mindless assault, the girls’ bodies were delivered in a coffin to their parents with a flower carved into their stomachs. That was his mark: a red rose.

“I hope you’re finally done with that report, Rose?” I snapped out of my thoughts to see my boss, Ms Ariadne Watts, peering at me through her glasses. She was a slightly stout woman with graying hair. She had been in the field for a long time and had finally decided to take a desk job.

“Yes, Ms Watts. Just finished it,” I said, handing her the file.

“Good, because I have a case that might interest you,” she said, handing me a file. “It’s a missing person case. I think you’ll want this one.”

“Who’s the victim?” I asked, opening the file.

“Emma Perkins. Muggle-born. You know her, I think?”

I started at the name. “Yes I do,” I said, nodding. “I went to Hogwarts with her older sister, Illaria. We weren’t very close but I knew her.”

“Good. Now stop looking so gloomy and get on with the case. I've owled the family and told them you’ll reach their house in about fifteen minutes for interrogations.”

I nodded my head and grabbed my wand off the desk.

Just as I was leaving, I heard Ms Watts say, “Oh Rose, you should probably go with your partner.”

“Sorry, my partner?” I asked, frowning.

“Yes, I’m afraid you’ll have a partner for this case, Rose. Your father doesn’t want you running around alone with that killer on the lose.”

“But Ms Watts you know I work alone. I'm absolutely disastrous with partners,” I whined.

“I'm sorry Rose but I can’t go against your father’s wishes. He is a Senior Auror after all. And I think you’ll like this partner. He’s not like the ones you’ve had before. This one’s smart and he will complement you perfectly. Plus, he’s one of our best,” she said, a small smile playing on her lips.

“Please Ms Watts you know there’s no one as smart as I am at the office except the Senior Aurors,” I said, shaking my head. “So who is this person that you think is perfect for me?”

“Well it’s… Ah! Right on time!” she exclaimed suddenly, spotting someone behind me. “Rose, meet your new partner, Scorpius Malfoy.”

I turned around, my mouth ajar. “No. No way Ms Watts. Absolutely not. I refuse to work with this man!” I shouted, folding my arms angrily.

Scorpius smirked and pushed his platinum blond hair out of his eyes. “Nice to meet you as always, Ro. You look fit in that pantsuit. Been working out, have you?” he said, looking me up and down.

“Shut up you brat.” Wheeling to face Ms Watts, I said, “See, Ms Watts? This is why I can’t work with him.”

“Oh come off it now Rose. You can either work on this case with Scorpius or you can let him work on it alone and handle reports and files with me,” she said, folding her arms.

She knew I would never give up a case and definitely not to Scorpius idiot Malfoy. I grumpily huffed out, “Fine, I’ll work with him. But this is blackmail Ms Watts and you know it. It’s cheating.”

“Oh shush dear. Now go. The Perkins will be waiting.” With that she turned on her heel and left me standing with my archenemy.

Okay so maybe Scorpius isn’t my archenemy or my enemy but that doesn't mean that I don't hate him very much. He is everything I don’t want in a partner: handsome (this is a very distracting quality; what if I get distracted by his gorgeous forearms when I’m facing a murderer? Oh Merlin did I just say gorgeous?), incredibly arrogant (bigheaded idiots tended to make bad decisions), flirtatious (his remarks get to me and make having a proper conversation with him very difficult), and most importantly, he smirks (his smirk drives me absolutely insane. No explanation needed).

“Come on Ro. We’ll have so much fun, you and I,” he said, smirking like an idiot.

“Don’t call me Ro,” I muttered angrily. “Look, if we’re going to make this work, you need to behave properly and stay serious and focused on the case. I don’t want you fooling around when we’re in the middle of an interrogation and mess up the whole thing, do you understand? I know this girl and I want to make sure she is found.”

“Ro, I think I should remind you that I dated her sister at Hogwarts so I have more connections with the family. So you don’t have to get your knickers in a twist about my professionalism. I am always serious about my work so you can quit harping.”

“Fine,” I said, through gritted teeth. I pushed past him towards the doors. “Come on now. We have a missing girl to find.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll upload the next chapters soon depending on the response. Leave me a comment on what you think so far! Stay safe and take care, loves 💖 Find me on twitter at minnnieyoongles ❤😊


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I was going to wait till later to post another update but I've somehow been struck with inspiration and didn't want to let go of this motivational streak. Please be sure to sign petitions, spread awareness, and donate to the BLM movement if you can! Happy reading 🌹

I hadn’t realized how much I had missed the muggle suburbia until we disapparated onto Madison Drive. All the cul-de-sacs in straight lines, kids playing in their backyards, and the faint smell of daisies reminded me of my grandparents. It had been almost a year since I had last visited them.

As I was reminiscing, Scorpius let out a soft chuckle beside me. I sighed; for a blissful moment I had almost forgotten that he was with me.

“What’s wrong, Malfoy?” I said, turning my head. “The muggle world put you out of your element?”

“No, _Wealsey_ ,” he said, chuckling again. “You were just smiling into the distance. Thinking of someone hmm?” he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“Knock it off, Scorpius,” I said, shoving him. “We’re here anyway.”

We stopped in front of a simple brick house with a wooden gate and wild flowers in the front garden.

“My grandmother would have a fit if she saw this garden,” Scorpius said, pushing the gate open. “Come on, Ro.”

I followed him up the path and onto the porch. I raised my hand to ring the doorbell when I hesitated. I was so nervous. Why was I nervous? I had done this a million times: talking to clients was nothing new to me, so what was the issue? I turned my head to look at Scorpius, leaning against the door-frame, inspecting the garden. Of course, he was the issue.

I guess I should mention that when we were at Hogwarts, Scorpius and I had been rivals. We were both smart, talented and extremely ambitious, so naturally we tried to be the best at everything. Only we never managed to beat each other. No matter how hard we tried and how many extra credit assignments we submitted, we were always equals. I had always felt comfortable fighting with Scorpius, and even though he and I had been Heads together at Hogwarts, we had never truly worked together towards a common goal, which probably justified my anxiety.

Clearing my throat, I said, “Listen Scorpius, I don’t want to mess this case up, okay? This is a really important case for me because if I can find a missing person with the Crimson Curse on the loose, then I prove to my Dad that I am more than capable of handling myself and maybe, just maybe, he might let me work with him on the big case. So please, don’t screw this up for me.” I know, I know, I lied. But what was I supposed to do? Tell him the truth and let him think that he was getting to me? As if.

He smirked and shook his head, “Always wanting to prove something, Ro. I won’t mess this up. Illaria was my girlfriend, remember? Emma means a lot to me. So no, there’s no chance that I’ll mess this up.”

I nodded, satisfied, and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a bustling roundish woman with graying hair and a flower apron opened the door. Even though she beamed at us, I could clearly see she was tired with large dark circles under her red, puffy eyes.

“Good morning, Mrs Perkins,” I said, shaking her hand. “I’m Rose Weasley and this is Scorpius Malfoy. We’re from the Auror's Office and we’re here to ask you some questions about Emma.”

“Oh yes yes, come in, come in,” she said, ushering us inside. She stopped suddenly and turned to face Scorpius. “Scorpius Malfoy? Illaria’s Scorpius?” she said, incredulous.

“Yes, Mrs Perkins. I’m the same Scorpius,” Scorpius said, blushing a little.

Mrs Perkins pulled him into a big hug and kissed his cheeks. “Oh! How wonderful! I’m so glad that you’re one of the people on the case. I always liked you. I told Lari that breaking up with you was a bad idea but she wouldn’t listen to me! She was so sure that you were cheating but I knew you were a good egg…” Her voice faded as she led him into the living room, leaving me standing in the doorway.

I frowned after them and tried to control myself. Okay so Mrs Perkins was fond of Scorpius; that didn’t mean I was going to let him lead this case. He might be handsome, charming, charismatic, or whatever but I was not going to let him walk all over me. I had something to prove and I was not going to let Scorpius sodding Malfoy come in the way of that. I took a deep breath to center myself and walked into the living room.

\-------------------X---------X---------------------

“Here’s some tea sweetheart,” said Mrs Perkins, handing me a cup of steaming tea. “Have some biscuits too.”

“Thank you so much,” I said, taking a sip and promptly burning my tongue on the scalding tea. I hastily put the cup down on the center table and took out my quill and notebook. “If it’s alright with you, Mrs Perkins, I’d like to ask some questions about Emma.”

“Oh yes dear of course,” said Mrs Perkins as she sat down across from us. “She was a really sweet kid, my Emma. Always gentle and kind, never hurt even a fly! I don’t understand how she’s gone.”

I straightened my back and said, “I know this might be difficult for you, Mrs Perkins, but everything you tell us is going to help us find your daughter and bring her back.”

Mrs Perkins nodded, “Please ask your questions, I’ll tell you as much as I can.”

“Thank you, Mrs Perkins,” I said, clearing my throat. “Can you tell me about the day of Emma’s disappearance in detail?”

“It was almost five days ago; Saturday I think it was. She had breakfast with us as usual and left to go to her friend’s house which is about a fifteen-minute walk away. She didn't say when she would be home, so we didn’t really notice anything wrong till the evening when she didn’t come back. When she wasn’t home by dinner, we just assumed she had gotten caught up with her friend, you know how teenagers are,” Mrs Perkins sighed. “It was getting close to 8pm when we started getting a bit worried. She used to stay the night with her friends all the time, but she would always send us a message but this time we hadn’t received anything.”

I nodded, as my charmed quill scratched quick notes in the notebook. “Did you get in touch with her friend when she didn’t come home at night?”

Mrs Perkins’ bottom lip wobbled at that and suddenly, she burst into tears. “Oh dear! Oh no oh! We should have but we didn’t! Oh God we didn’t!” she cried.

Scorpius glared at me as he stood up, conjuring a handkerchief, and walked towards Mrs Perkins. He pulled up a chair next to her and pulled her in for a hug, wiping her tears with the handkerchief. “It’s alright Mrs Perkins, please take your time. We’re in no hurry,” he said as he turned to glare at me again.

I sneered at him and looked away. Screw Scorpius and his stupid charms. How was I supposed to know she would start crying? I sighed and agreed quietly, “Yes Mrs Perkins, please take your time.”

Mrs Perkins loudly blew her nose and took some deep breaths. “We really should have called her friend but we didn’t. You see she had turned eighteen just a few days ago and we’d had a big argument because we wouldn’t let her stay out or go to the magical parts of London at night. We were just worried about the killings you know and even though our Emma wasn’t a redhead, we just wanted her to stay safe.” She sighed, “She was young and didn’t understand the dangers of the real world. But eventually kids also grow up and I guess we were being far too paranoid, so we had agreed to let her go around our neighborhood on her own terms, without us meddling. So when she didn’t come home that night, we were scared obviously but we kept our word and didn’t check in with her. Oh, if only we would have sent a message sooner, she could have been home oh dear oh!” she exclaimed as she dissolved into tears once again.

Scorpius tightened his arms around her and glared at me once again. ‘Let me handle this,’ he mouthed. I threw up my hands in the air, giving up. This investigation was not going according to plan.

Rubbing a reassuring palm up and down Mrs Perkins’ back, Scorpius said gently, “It wasn’t your fault, Mrs Perkins. You had no way of knowing something like this would happen. You were just trying to do your job, trying to be a good parent which isn’t the easiest job. What happened to Emma wasn’t your fault but you can help us bring her back by answering our questions.”

Mrs Perkins nodded quietly, sniffling.

“Before she left that day, did Emma seem stressed or nervous? Did she perhaps mention any arguments with her friends or acquaintances?” Scorpius asked, voice sweet like honey.

Mrs Perkins shook her head, “No not at all. In fact, she seemed even more happy in the past few days. She’s always been a private and reserved girl, but she had seemed a little more cheerful to me. She had gone out for a music festival with her muggle friends and had become much more lively after that. She would spend a lot of time writing in her room and was very excited every time she got a letter. I assumed she had gotten herself a boyfriend at the festival or something of that sort because she would read those letters with a silly smile on her face.”

I frowned at that, “A boyfriend? Was she going to meet this boy the day she disappeared?”

“No, she never mentioned her boyfriend, I had just assumed. She was going to visit her friend Lucy Walters, a muggle who we’ve known for years now,” replied Mrs Perkins.

“Did you speak to Lucy about Emma’s visit that day?” asked Scorpius.

“We did call her the next day asking about Emma, but Lucy said Emma hadn’t come the day before at all. Actually, she had never even mentioned to Lucy that she would come by. It’s like she just disappeared off the face of the planet. Our poor little girl, my precious baby!” wailed Mrs Perkins.

I sighed and took a sip of the now cold tea. “I understand how you must be feeling, Mrs Perkins. I went through the same thing when my cousin Lily was missing. The helplessness and fear are incomparable, which is why I need you to help us in any way that you can,” I said, looking up at her. “Just answer one final question and we’ll be on our way. Can we see the letters Emma received?”

Mrs Perkins shook her head as she wiped her tears, “I wish I could give them to you, dear. But you see we don’t have them. I’m afraid she must have gotten rid of them before she left or taken them with her. We’ve looked through her room and all her belongings, but we haven’t found any letter.”

I nodded, trying not to look disappointed. “That’s quite alright Mrs Perkins. You mentioned she used to write a lot; did she keep a journal of some sort that we can look at?”

“She kept a journal I think, she was always scribbling in it. Little brown notebook, she always had it with her. It’s up in her room if you both would like to go look.”

“Thank you so much Mrs Perkins. It would be great if we could look around her room to try and find something that might help us,” said Scorpius, standing up. “You’ve been really helpful, thank you so much.”

Mrs Perkins’ face softened as she touched his cheek, cooing, “No sweetheart I should be thanking you. I’m so happy you’re the one leading this investigation, I just know she’s in safe hands with you on the case.”

I glared angrily at Scorpius’ angelic face; he may have everyone wrapped around his finger but couldn’t fool me. I cleared my throat, “Mrs Perkins, is her room upstairs?”

Mrs Perkins turned to me, as if she suddenly remembering that I was there too. “Oh yes dear of course!” she exclaimed, leading the way out of the living room.

As she was about to head up the stairs, the front door opened. A tall, beautiful young woman walked in and started taking off her coat. “Mum I’m back! I didn’t get the—” she stopped abruptly as she stared at us.

“Hey Illaria, it’s been a while,” said Scorpius, with a soft smile on his face.

“Scorpius? What’re you doing here?” she asked, looking surprised.

“Ah Lari I’m so glad you’re here!” her mother exclaimed, walking over to embrace her daughter. “Scorpius here is leading the investigation to find our sweet Emma. I was just taking them up to her room to show them her journal.”

“Her journal? Why her journal?” frowned Illaria, looking quite alarmed.

“Your mother told us Emma had been receiving some letters before her disappearance, which she presumably got rid of. There’s a possibility she could have written down something about them in her journal so it would be prudent for us to look at them,” I said, walking forward. “Rose Weasley. It’s nice to meet you again, Illaria,” I said, sticking my hand out towards her.

“There’s no need to look at her journal!” shouted Illaria, completely ignoring my outstretched hand. “I’ve looked at my sister’s journal and there’s nothing in there for a bunch of aurors to see. Rather than snooping around a girl’s diary, you should be out there looking for her!” She handed us our coats from the coat-rack and started ushering us towards the door. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to have a word with my mother privately. You can show yourselves out.”

“Illaria please listen to me!” I exclaimed, utterly surprised by her behavior. “There could be valuable information in the journal about Emma which could be the key to getting her back! You can’t obstruct our investigation like this!”

At this, Illaria stopped and drew herself up to her full, intimidating height. She folded her hand and stated coldly, “As her older sister, I refuse to give you access to her personal belongings. I see you both don’t have any official documents authorized by a Senior Auror asking for the journals particularly for the investigation, so I have the full right to not give them to you.” 

“Yes but—” I started.

A hand on my shoulder stopped me, “Thank you so much for your time Illaria.” Scorpius stepped in front of me and said politely, “We appreciate your help and will do everything in our power to find your sister and bring her back. We won’t rest till we find her; I promise you that,” he said with conviction. Looking around Illaria at her stunned mother, he bowed his head, “Thank you for the help and the lovely tea, Mrs Perkins. Take care.”

“But Scorpius we can’t just leave—”

“We’ll be leaving now, thank you for your help!” called Scorpius, as he dragged me out of the house and down the driveway.

“Scorpius what are you doing!” I yelled tugging my arm out of his grasp. “You can’t just drag me around like that! We need to go back and get that journal somehow!

“No, we’re not going to get the journal, Rose,” stated Scorpius, his voice annoyingly calm.

“What do you mean? You saw how vehemently she wanted to keep us away from it. There’s obviously something important in the journal,” I said, walking away. “We need to go back to headquarters and get the authorization to the journal come on!”

“No, we’re not going to do that Rose!” exclaimed Scorpius, raising his voice for the first time that day. He grabbed my arm and whirled me around. “We’re not going to get any authorization or signature, alright?”

“Are you listening to yourself, Malfoy?” I screamed. “We need the journal there’s something that she’s hiding, you saw Illaria, how desperate she was! Malfoy, we have to—”

“Listen to me, Rose, whatever is in the journal, Illaria must have a good reason to not show it to us, okay?” said Scorpius, exasperated at my outburst. “We just need to trust her and not meddle with the journal. Let’s go talk to Emma’s friend, Lucy Clearwater, right? Let’s go see if she has anything that can help us.”

“No! What is wrong with you Malfoy?” I yelled, surprised by his nonchalance. “How can you just let this go!” I stared at his impassive face; his hand still clasped firmly around my arm. His face was calm, but his eyes were piercing as if he was beseeching me to understand him. Even though he was my rival, he was someone I respected immensely. He might seem like an apathetic, nonchalant prat but I knew better than anyone that under that cool, aloof exterior was a smart, hardworking man who would never back down from a challenge. I had spent far too many late nights at the library studying across from him to know that he was just as ambitious and persistent as his house expected him to be. The man in front of me was not that same boy.

Frustrated and angry, I yelled out, “Are you seriously going to let this go because Illaria was your girlfriend? You cheated on her Scorpius; she’s not going to jump into bed with you now because you’re trying to find her sister!”

Stunned, Scorpius let go of my hand. “Seriously, Weasley?” He scoffed, his features cool and expressionless, but his voice betrayed his pain. “Is that how little you think of me? That I would cheat on someone? That I would try to use her sister’s disappearance to get her to sleep with me? I thought you knew me better, Ro.”

“I thought I knew you better too, Scorpius!” I shouted. “Her mom did say you cheated on Illaria and everyone at Hogwarts thought so too; you can’t blame me for thinking that!”

“I don’t care what people say, Ro,” he said, shaking his head. “It matters what you think. I thought you knew better.” His eyes hardened and his expression suddenly turned cold. “But I guess a Weasley will always be a Weasley, won’t you?”

My anger spiking, I took a step forward, “What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean, Malfoy?”

“Your father was always in the shadow of his friends. Not brave or famous like Harry Potter, not smart and resourceful like your mother,” he said, coldly, taking a step forward till we were inches apart. “At Hogwarts I always thought you were more like your mother, intelligent and hardworking, but alas, I was mistaken. Just like that blasted crimson hair, you’re truly your father’s daughter. Trying to prove you’re worthy when in fact you’re only living in others’ shadow. You won’t prove anything if you solve this case, Weasley, because you’ll never be worthy enough to be an Auror."

A sob rose to my throat as I tried to stop my tears from spilling over. I had forgotten that just like I knew Scorpius, he too knew me just as well. He had hit me right where it hurt, and he knew it. I shoved him away roughly and screamed through my tears, “You’re such an arse, Malfoy! I hate you!”

Scorpius looked shocked at his own words as he realized his mistake, like he had snapped out of a trance. He reached out to me, pleading, “No Ro please I didn’t mean—”

“Leave me alone!” I shouted as I pulled out my wand and turned on the spot, leaving Scorpius alone on the pavement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this chapter! I have a vague idea of where I'm going with this story but I'd really appreciate some feedback so I can work on improving. Stay safe and take care, loves 💖 Find me on twitter at minnnieyoongles ❤😊


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back with another chapter! This one might feel a bit different because it's completely new and not a continuation of one I had written five years ago. This one is more character focused than the previous ones because I really want to explore Rose (and Scorpius later on) as a complex, multifaceted character. This is definitely the type of writing I like more nowadays which is why it might feel a bit different. I've increased the rating to mature and also updated the tags because as suggested in this chapter, I'll be dealing with more serious topics as the story continues so read accordingly. Happy reading 🌹
> 
> tw// Rose has a nightmare about her past and then has a panic attack after waking up. Please skip it if you need to! The nightmare starts at: "I was sitting on the huge oak tree" and ends at "vision starting to blur—" The panic attack starts at "I sat up screaming" and ends at "my heartbeat return to normal."

“A bottle of chardonnay and two packets of crisps. That’ll be all?” asked the muggle cashier, scanning my items.

“Can you throw in a pack of ciggies too please?” I requested, pointing behind him.

As I stepped out into the cool night air, I lit a cigarette and brought it up to my lips to take a deep drag. I closed my eyes and felt the smoke curl inside my chest, tipping my head back to blow it out. I watched the smoke whirl out in intricate patterns, looking hauntingly beautiful in the amber light of the lampposts. I tapped my cigarette to flick away the ashes and started walking down the road towards my apartment.

I wistfully watched a young couple walk past, their hands clasped between them as they talked excitedly, their skirts billowing in the wind. The sound of their heels faded away as I rounded the corner and continued to walk down the empty road. I took another drag of the cigarette and as I blew out the smoke, I felt the back of my neck prickle, as if someone were watching me. Dropping the cigarette, I pulled out my wand and whipped around only to find myself pointing at empty air. A cawing broke through the eerily quiet night as I looked up to see a raven sitting on a nearby streetlamp. I forced myself to breathe deeply to slow down my rapid heartbeat and lowered my shaking hand. I crushed the forgotten cigarette under my boot and threw it away in a trashcan. Pulling my coat more firmly around my shoulders, I clutched my wand and hurried to my apartment.

As I stepped into my apartment building, I looked behind myself to once again to find nothing, but an empty road bathed in amber light. A chill crawled up my spine and I shuddered as a cold breeze whipped through the bushes. I turned around and hastily climbed up to my apartment, tapping twice on my front door to lift the protective enchantments. Quickly stepping inside, I shut the door and tapped twice again to put the enchantments back into place. I rested my head against the door as I felt the familiar warmth of my apartment wrap around me like a protective blanket. I closed my eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of lavender incense, already feeling more relaxed.

Putting my coat away, I lit another cigarette and peaked into my room for Celine, only to find her cage empty. I looked at my open window and shrugged, ‘She must have gone out to hunt,’ I thought.

Walking into the kitchen, I took out a wine glass with the logo of the Hollyhead Harpies, my favorite quidditch team, and thought inexplicably of my aunt. Out of my father’s many siblings, I was closest to my Aunt Ginny, perhaps because even though she was a retired quidditch player and sports journalist and I was an auror, we shared many similarities other than our blazing red hair. I remembered the summer before my final year at Hogwarts, sneaking up to the roof of the Burrow with her and drinking Firewhiskey even though I was still not of age.

“You need to live more freely, Rosie,” she had said, downing half of her bottle in one go. “Look at the stars, dear,” she said, tilting her head up towards the beautiful night sky. “The universe is vast, so vast that you can’t even imagine it. You’ll be seventeen soon and before you know it, you’ll have graduated from Hogwarts. Everyone’s going to tell you to be careful of the real world, you’ll have a job and lots of responsibilities soon; it’s going to get stressful.”

She turned to look at me, her eyes warm, and tucked a stray lock of my hair behind my ear. “You’ll be bogged down by the weight of the world soon, it’s inevitable you know, because of our family. I feel sorry for you kids but you’ll all face the pressure of living up to your parents’ achievements.” Taking my hands, she said softly, “But you have to promise me, sweetheart, that no matter what happens, you won’t let your spark burn out. When the darkness seems especially overwhelming, when it gets a little too hard to breathe, promise me you’ll hold on. Promise me you won’t let go of that fire in your soul. You’re a Weasley, Rosie, so promise me you’ll live as fiercely as your red hair.”

I sighed and uncorked the bottle of wine. My aunt was as strong and fierce as they come, but even she hadn’t been able to take the despair of almost losing her own daughter. She had withdrawn so far into herself in the months of Lily’s abduction that I felt I had lost her completely. I filled up my glass and walked towards my couch, grabbing a packet of crisps on the way. Sitting down, I switched on my muggle television and started flicking through the channels.

Most of my family and friends didn’t understand why I chose to stay in a muggle neighborhood or why I used so many muggle inventions. To most magical folk, living like muggles felt tedious and boring, but I found great comfort in quietly folding my laundry as a soft muggle song played on the radio. While apparating felt quick and efficient, I loved my daily walks through muggle parks and my pretty neighborhood. In a magical world where everyone knew my name and had ridiculous expectations of me, it felt good to be just another person in the muggle crowd, even just for a short time.

I took a sip of the cheap wine and stuffed myself with salty crisps as I watched William Thacker walk through beautiful Notting Hill on the television, recognizing most of the streets from my regular walks in that neighborhood.

As I took another drag of my cigarette, my mind wandered to Scorpius and our argument earlier that day. I couldn’t believe I had let him get to me like that; I had never cried like that in front of anyone, let alone my rival. I guess hearing him say exactly what had been eating me up pretty much my whole life had made me break. My dad’s worries about himself had slowly become my own, and even though I knew he was a capable and brilliant man, the little seed of doubt that was planted in his mind had somehow, over the years, blossomed in mine. It wasn’t entirely Scorpius’ fault though, I had to admit I did say some rather nasty things to him too. Even with all the rumors that had circulated about him cheating on Illaria at Hogwarts, I had never once believed them because I knew that no matter how much of a prat he was, Scorpius Malfoy would never cheat.

I sighed loudly and stubbed out my cigarette on the corner of my coffee table. I rubbed my tired eyes and settled against the cushions, sipping my wine. I would have to apologize to him tomorrow and set things straight. We had both been nasty to each other, but we couldn’t let petty arguments come in the middle of an investigation. Emma was still out there, and it was our responsibility to bring her home.

Quickly downing the rest of my wine, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to slip into the blissful darkness.

\-------------------X---------X-------------------

I was sitting on the huge oak tree in the vast grounds surrounding the Burrow, blowing dandelion fuzz, and watching it float away into the blue summer sky. Beside me, my six-year-old cousin Lily was leaning over the branch to look at the green grass below.

“Rosie if I jump now do you think I’ll break my bones or will the magic save me?” she asked, with her head tilted to the side, mischief clearly written all over her face.

Suddenly fear gripped me as I stared in horror at my baby cousin, “Lily listen to me, don’t jump okay just come to me, we’ll use the ladder to get down.” I tried to grab her arm, but she only moved away, laughing playfully.

“Don’t be silly Rosie! Dad told me how my grammy used to jump around like this all the time when she was young! Her magic saved her, so it’ll save me too,” she said, grinning.

“No, Lily I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” I pleaded, still trying to grab her. “Let’s just go down the ladder okay?”

“But I want to jump, Rosie!” she shouted, growing increasingly frustrated. “Why are you such a stick in the mud? James was right, you’re just a bore!”

“Please don’t do this, Lily please no!” I screamed and lunged out desperately for her as she jumped off the branch. For a second, my hand wrapped around hers, and I thought I had caught her, but the next moment her hand was ripped out of my grip as she hurtled towards the ground. She was laughing with excitement, her red hair flowing above her head like a blazing flame, too carefree to hear my scream of horror.

Just as she was about to crash into the ground below, the field disappeared and suddenly, I was in a dark warehouse. The wind whistled by, rattling the rusted, broken door in front of me, as I waited with bated breath for some sign of movement.

“Ro-Rosie, please,” whispered Lily’s voice behind me. I whirled around to see my now grown up cousin clutching at a dagger buried to the hilt sticking out of her stomach. Her hands and the front of her white t-shirt was covered in blood, which continued to ooze from the wound in the center. I tried to rush to her but found myself frozen to the spot, unable to move an inch.

“No! No, Lily!” I screamed trying desperately to move towards her. I searched my jacket for my wand but found my pockets empty. “Lily, hang on I’m going to get you out of here!”

“Rosie,” she whispered, collapsing to the ground. Her head lolled back as her breathing started to slow, the blood now forming a pool around her still body.

“Lily! No, please, Lily wake up! Please!” I sobbed, collapsing to the ground myself, as I tried desperately to crawl towards her but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t move.

Suddenly, a lone figure appeared by her side, dressed in black robes, their head covered by a hood and face hidden by a black mask. All I could see were their eyes, their deep blue piercing eyes.

I gasped and fell back screaming only to find myself pressed onto my back, not on the cold floor of the warehouse but on my four-poster bed at Hogwarts. Unrelenting arms pushed me down, a hand on my throat choking me as I desperately tried to claw at my attacker’s face. Deep blue eyes, just like the curtains around my bed, stared down at me as I struggled to breathe, vision starting to blur—

I sat up screaming, tears streaming down my face as I tried to push away someone who wasn’t there. Celine was screeching loudly next to me, urgently flapping her wings. I realized I was still on my couch in my apartment, the television now playing some strange program with a man trying to sell a muggle cleaning device. As I took in my surroundings, trying to calm down, I felt bile rising in my throat and immediately ran to the bathroom. I kneeled on the floor and threw up into the toilet bowl. The wine I had drank stained the white toilet bowl, a strange purplish-red color, which made me hurl even more. I retched till nothing came out, then pushed myself away to lean against the wall and catch my breath.

I felt completely exhausted and tried to close my eyes, but immediately opened them in horror when visions of my dream came back to me. Gasping for air, I put my head between my knees and desperately tried to breathe as deeply as I could. I tried to remember what Healer Grace had told me about panic attacks: take deeps breaths and count backwards from 20. I tried desperately to control my breathing, but I couldn’t get out of that blasted four-poster bed. I couldn’t break away from those blue eyes; my vision started swimming as my breathing became shorter and more labored, panic rapidly rising.

Suddenly I felt a soft brush of feathers against my arm. I looked down to see Celine staring up at me with her big, black eyes, hooting softly as she rubbed her head against my arm again and again. I let out a pitiful sob and let my legs fall so she could hop only my lap. I gently stroked her brown feathers as she continued to rub her head against me. I tried to ground myself in the moment and tried to focus on her feathers under my hand, her head against my belly. Slowly but surely, I felt my breathing even out and my heartbeat return to normal.

I let out a relieved breath and caressed Celine’s face, “Thank you so much, Cel. What would I do without you, my love?”

She stared at me, unblinkingly, and hooted deeply. I wasn’t sure what she understood but she was there for me and that was enough. Gingerly, I got up, flushed the toilet, and stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were red and puffy from crying, tears and snot smearing my cheeks and nose. I splashed cold water onto my face and rinsed out my mouth. Walking out of the bathroom, I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 4am; I still had at least four hours to sleep but I knew I wasn’t going to fall asleep any time soon, not even with the strong sleeping draught Healer Grace had given me.

Stretching my arms above my head, I let out a tired sigh. I glanced at my work bag, which had all my work on Emma’s case. ‘If I can’t fall asleep, I might as well get some work done,’ I thought, as I pulled out my notebook. I charmed myself a steaming mug of coffee and settled myself comfortably against the cushions, Celine perched on the arm of the couch, and began working on finding Emma.

\-------------------X---------X-------------------

“Merlin’s beard lady watch where you’re going!” yelled a disgruntled man as I shouldered past him into the auror offices.

“I’m sorry, Sir!” I called out, running towards the elevator. I had worked on my notes on Emma’s case for quite a while before falling asleep just an hour before I was supposed to wake up for work. Having slept through all my alarms, I was running quite late as I tried to navigate through the crowd to get to the elevator to my department. I hurried into the elevator, but in my haste, I tripped over my cloak and stumbled into a tall figure. Strong arms held me up as I tried to right myself; I looked up to thank them only to find myself staring into familiar light gray eyes.

We stared at each other, momentarily shocked, till I cleared my throat and took a step back. His hands fell from my arms and immediately reached up to tug on his platinum blonde hair.

I adjusted my cloak and muttered, “Thank you, Scorpius.”

I looked up at him, expecting him to be smirking at me, but he looked away uncomfortably and muttered equally quietly, “No problem.”

I thought about my notebook in my bag, where I had scribbled down my apology to him, wondering if this was a good time to bring it up. Just as I was about to speak, I was interrupted by the elevator door opening and someone walking in.

“Oh hello, Rosie!” he said, putting an arm around me.

“Hi Uncle Harry, how’re you?” I asked, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“Just working on finding that damn killer. I’m going up to meet your father actually, we may have found something that could help the case,” he said, looking tired. “How’s your case going, Rosie? You’re working on the Perkins’ case, right? Missing girl?”

“Yep that’s the one. Scorpius and I met her mother and older sister yesterday,” I replied, nodding to Scorpius who was silently standing next to me.

My uncle looked at Scorpius, as if suddenly realizing he was also there. “Ah that’s right. You’re partners on this one, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Sir,” nodded Scorpius.

“Good, that’s really good,” said my uncle. “Ron was really worried about Rose working by herself now, so I had suggested pairing both of you up. I think both of you will work very well on this case!”

I pursed my lips and thought back bitterly to our argument yesterday. “Of course, Uncle Harry.”

Just then the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.

“Well, this is me. Take care, Rosie. You too Scorpius! Drop by our house some time, won’t you? Lily would love to see you both!” said my uncle, walking out.

The doors closed, leaving us alone. All thoughts of my apology to Scorpius left my mind as my uncle mentioning Lily had suddenly brought back the horrible dream from last night. I stared at the floor, eyes unfocused, but snapped out of my reverie as I heard Scorpius calling my name.

“Ro, you coming? This is our floor.” He was standing outside, holding the doors open for me.

I blinked in surprise and quickly walked out to join him. We stared at each other once again, and for the first time, I really looked at Scorpius properly. His generally meticulously styled hair was messy and unkempt, his shirt rumpled, and his grey eyes looking uncharacteristically bloodshot. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who’d had a rough night.

“Ro, I—” he started, but I interrupted him, holding up a hand.

“Scorpius, you don’t have to say anything. We both said some pretty horrible things yesterday. I’m sorry I commented on your relationship; no matter what the rumors were, it was your and Illaria’s relationship, so I had no right to say all that.” Taking a deep breath, I looked up at him, “I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but I really think we should put our rivalry aside for Emma’s sake. She’s our responsibility and we can’t let her down.”

He stared at me with his brow furrowed, looking at me with an indecipherable expression. After a few contemplative moments, he said, “You don’t have to apologize, Ro. I shouldn’t have gone after you like that; I’m really sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday so do you think we could start over?”

I nodded, a soft smile on my lips, “I’d really like that.”

He beamed to me in response, the smile lighting up his tired face. I caught my breath as I realized, not for the first time, just how handsome Scorpius truly was. Even when our childhood rivalry had clouded my judgement, I had always known that he was incredibly charming.

“I, uh, I went over my notes from yesterday and I think I have an idea of what we should do next,” I said, patting my bag. “Would you like to meet in a bit in one of the meeting rooms to discuss the case?”

His smile only grew as he agreed, “I’d love that, Ro. Let’s put our stuff away then meet in room 12B?”

I nodded, turning away, “I’ll see you in a bit!”

“See you in a bit!” I heard him call after me as I walked down the hallway towards my desk.

‘This is progress, this is good!’ I thought, excitedly as I shrugged out of my coat and grabbed my notebook and quill. ‘We’re some of the smartest junior aurors at the office. We’re going to solve this case and we’re going to bring Emma home.’ Clutching my notebook tightly to my chest, I walked towards the meeting room with renewed purpose, ready to finally start working on the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all like the chapter, please let me know your thoughts! I'm getting busier with work at home and some online courses so it'll probably take me a while to update but I'll try to not give up on this fic again. Thank you for being such kind readers! Stay safe and take care, loves 💖 Find me on twitter at minnnieyoongles ❤😊
> 
> PS: Should I continue with this what do y'all think?


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